Thursday, July 17: Bohol, Philippines
Since our trip was so short we had to do a lot of tourist excursions. There were several places on Bohol we wanted to see, so the best way to do it in a short amount of time was to take a tour.
The first place we stopped at was the Blood Compact Monument. It was just a monument, but it had a beautiful view of the ocean. There was a guy selling jewelry and he wouldn't leave us alone. It was so annoying. Then our tour guide asked my (younger) sister if I was her daughter!
Our next stop was the Baclayon Church. It was the oldest coral church in Bohol. It was damaged pretty badly by an earthquake that occurred several months earlier.
The third stop was the Loboc River cruise. On the boat they served us a buffet lunch. I tried several different Filipino foods. There were two stops on the cruise. On the first stop they played local music. The second stop was at a tribal area. It was really awkward being there because it felt like they were exploiting this tribe. Jillian and I just stood there feeling weird. I couldn't wait to get back onto the boat.
The fourth stop was at a tarsier rescue center. The tarsiers were one of the things we wanted to see while on Bohol. They were so cute but since they are nocturnal they were sleeping. So did manage to open their eyes. You need to be really quiet when you are there because apparently when they hear loud noises and get stressed out they will bang their heads until they kill themselves.
The fifth stop we made was to a butterfly center. It was really sunny and there weren't a lot of butterflies around, so I didn't get very good pictures.
The sixth stop was at the Chocolate Hills. This was another place we really wanted to see. The chocolate hills are limestone mounds which were a natural phenomena from when the ocean covered the islands. They are called the chocolate hills because they turn brown during dry season. It was really cool to see in person, but definitely not something you'd spend hours at. The stairs up to the lookout were so steep. I'm so out of shape.
The last stop was at the Sipatan Hanging Bridge. This bridge was terrifying. I almost dropped my phone off the edge. My feet also kept getting caught in the bamboo.
Friday, July 18: Manila, Philippines
We flew to Manila in the morning because we were flying out of Manila to Thailand. We ate Wendy's when we arrived at the airport in Manila. I was already craving American foods. The portion size of the fries was really small! A lot of Peace Corps volunteers were in Manila because a new batch of volunteers were coming so we took a taxi to their office. I met several of Jillian's friends.
It is really hard getting a taxi in Manila because it's really busy and the taxi drivers are jerks. We went to a mall to buy some shampoo and get some food. Then we went to a bar with a few of my sister's friends. That night we went back to the airport and slept on the floor. Somehow I managed to get a few hours of sleep.
